For a few years after the kids were born, I had professional pictures taken regularly. Then, as school pictures started, followed by sports team photos, followed by spring pictures at school, there became less and less of a need for the staged photos. However, I still drag the kids out to the mall for Santa and Easter bunny pictures. Sure, they’re a little cheesy, but they provide me with a yearly bench mark, and I’ve told the kids that I will hold them to those annual pictures, even when they’re in their 40s.

In the spirit of the holiday, I shared this year’s bunny pic on Facebook. There were the requisite “cute kids” comments, the “they’ve gotten so big” comments, and I didn’t think twice about it. Then, a few days later, a friend asked me if I was trying to get my middle schooler beat up by posting his picture with the Easter bunny. I was ashamed to admit that I hadn’t even considered it.

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook for this very reason. Recently, Facebook has been giving us plenty of reasons to be mad at it, from the sharing of our data, or the spreading of fake news, or the undue influence it has apparently had over elections. It reminds me of the adage “this is why we can’t have nice things.”

For me, Facebook was a revelation. It allowed me to reconnect with many, many people I thought I would never hear from again. It’s allowed me to re-establish relationships with friends who moved away, friends from college that I barely kept in touch with through Christmas cards, and really get to know my second or third cousins so that on the few occasions when we do get together in person, we have so much to talk about and we know all of the kids’ names.

It’s also allowed me to create a virtual diary of the big and not-so-big events. I don’t know the day or time that A took his first steps, pre-Facebook, but I have it documented, time, place and actual video footage of when E took hers, several years later.

From my very first days on Facebook, I knew I had to establish some rules for myself about what I posted. First, if I wouldn’t stand up and say it in front of a room full of people, I won’t post it. Secondly, the only time I will share a link or an article or a meme is if it’s something that I want to say myself, but the content of the share says it much better than I ever could.

After a little bit of time on Facebook, I amended that to also share things that are near and dear to my heart, like advances in cardiac treatment for congenital heart disease that need attention and the spotlight so that they can keep getting the funding that they need.

When it comes to my kids, I have always tried to respect their privacy, but at the same time, my kids are my life, so sharing my life without them wouldn’t be sharing much at all.

I try to imagine that I’m creating a slideshow to show at their graduation party or their wedding. If I wouldn’t want a story or a picture or an image of them displayed there, I will usually not post it. Before I post anything, I will ask myself, “should I post this?” And if there is any hesitation at all, I don’t share it.

When it comes to things they do or say, if they do something that makes me laugh, I share it only with the intention of making other people laugh WITH us. I also have a few very trusted friends that I’ve asked to tell me if I ever post something completely off the mark or if I post something and it comes across differently from how I intended.

It’s important that some of these people have a very different sense of humor than you do, so that all your bases are covered. I also try to post the good, the bad and the ugly. Facebook is an invaluable resource when I am struggling with something and I’ve learned many useful parenting, housework and shopping tips from my network.

I don’t even want to come off as presenting a picture-perfect life, as I am usually almost always halfway to losing my mind, and I don’t think I could present it any other way if I tried. I also like to capture some of the not-so-great things, the bumps in the road, because in a year or two, when they pop up in my memories, I like to know that I’ve survived the crazy before, and life goes on.

It’s a tough balance. As the kids have gotten older and more aware of what’s going on in the world around them, I’ve tried to include them in the decision of what I share. Occasionally, they will even ask me to share something they’re particularly proud of. E has been trying to get me to video one of her epic belches for weeks just so we can share it. (It is truly something that has to be seen to be believed.)

So, I went back to A about the Easter bunny picture. He displayed a surprising amount of maturity when he told me that as long as I was happy with the picture, he didn’t care what anyone else thought.

“After all,” he said, “it’s not like I Snapchatted it or anything.” And, there it was, the reminder that technology is always changing and updating, and no matter what precautions I take, there’s always going to be another avenue to provide a challenge.

Liz Pinkey is a contributing writer to the Times News. Her column appears weekly in our Saturday feature section.